New MacBook Air Will Come in 11 and 13-Inch Flavors

More rumored details of a new 11-inch MacBook Air are trickling in. This time, the rather comprehensive list of new features comes from ex-Wired.com editor and Cult of Mac boss Leander Kahney, and even includes some guesses at the price.

According to Kahney’s “well-placed source”, there will be two versions of the new MBA announced this coming Wednesday, a redesigned 13.3-inch model and an all-new 11.6-inch model. Both will be faster and less under-powered than the current sleek-but-slow MacBook Air.

Here’s the list: A bigger battery will give 8-10 hours of use, which is
similar to what is already claimed for the MacBook Pro. The case will be thinner, and will replace the current curves with a “boxier” unibody, looking more like the iPhone 4 than the old MBA.

The lone USB-port will be joined by another, on the other side of the machine, and I’m guessing that this means that the drop-down door will be ditched – it always seemed a little awkward anyway. These ports will be joined by a Mini DisplayPort port.

Inside, RAM is now upgradeable, and the models will ship with 2GB and 4GB depending on size. The SSD, too, will be upgradeable, and storage can be supplemented with an SD card in a new slot on the right-side of the machine.

Kahney is more skeptical of his sources reports of pricing, which puts this hot machine into direct competition with the MacBook. The numbers are $1000 for the 11-inch and $1,100 for the 13-incher. This does seem too low.

But what of form factor? The Cult of Mac post features the mockup above, but I’m guessing that it may be more similar to an iPad with a keyboard attached. The current, full-sized Bluetooth aluminum keyboard from Apple is around an inch and a half wider than the iPad, which has a 9.7-inch screen. Something this size, without the keyboard “bezel” around Apple’s other notebook keyboards, would marry well with a larger iPad-style screen.

Another guess would be that there won’t be an SSD, but instead the storage will be similar to that found in the iPad, which currently maxes out at 64GB. Add an SD-card and that’s not a bad idea. True or false? We only have to wait until Wednesday and all will be revealed.

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